Machine for simultaneously cutting and branding cigars.



PATENTED JUNE 9, 1 903.

MACHINE FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY GUTTIN G AND BRANDING CIGARS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, I902.

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I I. W. HEYSINGBR! .MAGH-INEVVPOR SIMULTANEOUSLY CUTTING AND BRANDING CIGARS.-

APPLIOA'I'ION FILED MAR. 20, 1902.

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UNITED STATES Patented June 9, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

MACHINE FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY CUTTiNG AND BRANDING CIGARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 730,264; dated une 9, 1903.

I Application filed March 20,1902. Serial Nor 99,165; (llo model.)

To all whom it may concern.- Be it knowrithatIjIsAAo W. HEYSINGER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and notch for the reception of the rod or shank" of the operating-lever. Fig. 3 is a view of said operating-lever and its attached parts removed from the machine. 2 are sectional views of the side of the box of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an end view of the working parts inside the bo'x 0r casing, which casing is shown in cross-section. Fig. 4 is a modification of the end of the branding-lever of Fig. 4, an electric heating-coil being shown in connection with the printing 'or branding block and also in which instead of a box or casing the top plate or base on which the cigars are laid and attached parts are supported on legs at the corners. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section along the part 3 of the top of Fig. l and parallel with the groove 4 of said figure, showing the working parts in end view from the rear. (See dotted linew 00 of Fig. 4.) Fig. 6 is an end view of the machine with the parts in place and a cigar in; r

Fig. Tie a loo-- the groove, as shown at 50.

gitudinal section along the dotted line y y 0t Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a top view-of Fig. 1', show- The nu mbering in all the figures isuniform.

My invention is in part an improvement on the invention for which Letters Patent were Figs. 2, 2 and granted, me January 9, 1900, and numbered 640,909, and the improvements will be specifically setforth in this specification.

The object of myinvention is to produce a machine for simultaneously cutting off the stub ends of cigars while in process of manufacture, as is done on a simple cutting-machine in all cigar factories, and at the same time and without extra work or attention print or brand on the side of the still moist and newly-made cigar a name, mark, or device for identifying the same and preventing deception or mistake on the part of dealers or purchasers. g

In my present invention I provide a box or casing of the form shown in Fig. l, the extension 3 being for the long arm of the branding-lever. The box may be made square,

however, if the distance from front to rear be i sulificient. To the top of this casing, so as to complete the box, is secured the cover 3,which j'm'ay be of wood, but'is preferably of sheet metalor cast metal. The cover is provided with a longitudinal groove 4 to receive the cigar and a slot 5 at the bottom of said groove and extending through the same. When made of wood, I show the dovetail corners 2 2 corners by metallic legs 2, no inclosed box being used, and these legs I secure to the table by meansof the screws, as shown. To the end of the box or casing, as shown in Figs. 2, 6, and'7, I secure a flat plate 11, with an overhanging flange 19, preferably of cast metal, and for simplicity I prefer to form it with the deep notch 13. When secured to the end-by the screws 12 12, the bottom of this notch meshes withnthetop of the corresponding notch 6, as shown in Fig.1, and

" makes a'closedbearing for the journalfor rod 25 of the cutting-lever, as'shownfin' Fig. 6..

This flat plate is also provided (see Fig. 2) with a stop 20 to limit the upward throw of the handle and with a stud 1'7, i'n'which is seated a set-screw or stop 16 to adjust the depth of descent of the handle 29 (see Fig. 6) and the corresponding rise of the brandinglever 36 to regulate the depth or pressure of the type-block when in contact with the side of the cigar, so as to give a clear impression and at the same time prevent breaking the wrapper thereof.

As shown in Fig. 7, the rod 25, which supports the handle, extends through the casing from end to end, the handle 29 at right angles thereto rising outside the casing. A coiled spring surrounds this rod, as shown at 27, Fig. 7, and its tension restores the handle to an upright position again after a out has been made and the thumb released from the thumb-piece 31. To the inner side of this handle is attached the cutting-blade 30, which makes a shear out along the face at the end of the groove4 of the cover. 48 is a stud on the lever-handle 29, which engages against the set-screw 16 as the handle is depressed.

At 38, at the upper rear corner of the box or casing, (see Figs. 4, 6, and 7,) is pivoted the printing or branding lever 36, which is also preferably provided with acoiled spring 39 to restore it to position downward when the handle 29 is released. This branding-lever is provided with horizontal arms 36 37, which oscillate on 38 asa pivot and which extend across above the rod 25, as shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 7. The rod is provided with a camlever 32 at its rear side, which engages with a plate connecting the two oscillating arms 36, as shown in section in Fig. 4 at 37 and in crosssection in Fig. 5.

WVith the above connections and relations when thehandle 29 is brought down the knife 30 will approach to sever the stub end of the unfinished cigar. At the same time, the movement commencing a little later, the cam 32 will engage with the cross-plate 37 and raise the oscillating levers 36, the free ends of which carry the type-block to print or brand the cigar. As the knife continues to descend the type-block will sink deeper and deeper into the wet cigar and leave a permanent impression. When the handle 29 is released, the spring will carry it up to its original position, and the spring 39 of the branding-lever will also restore the lever 36 to its original position at the bottom of the casing or box; but to insure certainty in its movement and prevent chance of burning the cigar by sticking I additionally provide a lug on the rod 25 at 33, which engages with a downwardly-projecting pocket at the margin of the cross-plate 37 and which is marked in section in Fig. 5 and surrounds 33 in Fig. 7. This additional lug thus engages in an opposite direction, or above the depressed part of the plate 37, and forces the oscillating lever downward into place when the handle is raised. (See 33, Fig. 5.) Should the brand stick in the cigar, the handle will thus fail to rise, and the operator can at once see and correct it by quickly removing the cigar.

At the bottom of the box or casing, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, is a horizontal circular pad, of felt or the like, pivoted at the center and adapted to rotate. This is substantially similar to a similar device described and shown in my former Letters Patent hereinabove referred to. The toothed wheel 40 meshes into the perforated rack 42, and the shaft of the toothed wheel carries the type-block 41, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. 46 is a retainingspring to prevent the pad from rotating backward, and is a pivoted pawl eccentrically attached to the rod 25 of the handle 29, which rests upon and engages with the soft upper surface of the pad and slightly rotates it each time that the handle is forced down. In Fig. 4, however, and which is the form I prefer, I do not use a rotating type-block and an inked pad, but instead thereof use a fixed branding-block 41, secured to the free ends of the oscillating lever 36". This I prefer to heat, either by a lamp or gas-flame, preferably a Bunsen burner, in contact with said branding-block, or by a resistance-coil of iron wire in a casing, as shown at 40 in Fig. 4, in which the plus and minus electrical conductors are shown carrying the current which heats the coil to any definite temperature desired and maintains it equally at that temperature. In such case I prefer to mount my top plate or base 3 on legs 2, leaving the whole construction openbeneath.

In the form shown in Fig. 7 in longitudinal vertical section and in Fig. 4 in transverse vertical section I prefer to transversely hinge the pad-support, as shown at 51, Fig. 7, and provide a snap-spring 22, with a catch 24, with which the opposite side of said pad-supporting door is adapted to engage when closed and hold the same securely in place. When it is necessary to apply new ink to the pad, the door is unlatched and swung open on the hinge'51 as a center, and the pad 45, secured at its center to the said door, is carried along with the said door and exposed to view.

At the rear side of the cigar-supporting groove 4 and toward the left-hand side I pro vide a set-screw 54 and a washer 53. Under this washer is interposed a slotted arm 55, on the opposite free end of which is a hole or pin 57, which engages with a corresponding pin or hole in the block 52, which is preferably of Wood and is fitted into and adapted to-slide along the groove 4, as shown. I prefer to make the arm of a flat blade of springsteel, so thatwheu screwed down it will hold the block 52 very firmly in place, but may still enable it to be pushed along the groove to varying distances. The slot 56 maybe at either end of the spring-arm 55, as a matter of course, its purpose being to allow for varying lengths as the angular distance of the block is changed. In Fig. 9 the device is shown in use in cross-section.

It will be seen that in my present invention the cut of the knife is downward, while in my Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to the cut is upward against an overhanging arm, alongside which the blade moves; also, that a different mechanism is employed for operating the branding-block and for the various other operations for which the machine is adapted and that the construction is also radically different from that hereinbefore referred to, each having advantages specific and peculiar to itself.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a combined cigar cutting and marking machine, the combination of a cuttingblade operated by a handle, and provided with a rod or shank at right angles thereto, and a branding-arm pivoted in rear'of said shank and 'extended across the same, and supporting at its free end a marking-block, together with a cam on said shank adapted to engage with said arm, and reciprocate the same when said handle is operated, and a cigar supporting cover, slotted vertically to permit said marking-block to make pressure upon the side of said cigar, through said slot, substantially as described.

2. In combination with a rod or shank provided with a cam, and having at its end an operating-handle, a cutting-blade connected and operating with said handle, a slotted cigar-supporting cover for said shank, and a pivoted arm extending angularly across said rod or shank, pivoted in rear thereof, its free end supporting a marking-block adapted, when said arm is reciprocated, to enter and pass upward through said slot of said cover, said arm in contact with and operated by said cam on said rod or shank when said handle is reciprocated, together with meanswhereby said arm will be restored to its nor- 'mal position out of contact with said slot, when said handle is not operated, substantially as described.

3. In a cigar cutting and marking machine, a cover provided with a longitudinal groove, open upwardly, and a s'lot in the bottom of said groove through said cover, and supports for said cover to raise the same above a table on which it rests, an oscillating marking arm pivoted beneath said cover, and its forward end adapted to reciprocate in a vertical plane, and, along and beneath said arm, a rod or shank supporting a handle externally to said cover, said handle provided with a cutting-blade adapted to shear along the end of said groove of said cover, and said rod or shank operatively connected with said oscil lating arm so as to be reciprocated by the cutting operation of said handle and blade, substantially as and for the purposes described. i

' 4. In combination with a longitudinallygrooved and vertically-slotted cover, supported at a suitable height from a table, a shearing-plate at the end of said groove,and a shearing-blade adapted thereto, a handle supporting and operating said shearing-blade, and provided with a supporting and rotatable rod having an operating cam or lever adapted to engage with and operate an oscillating marking-lever, said lever pivoted in rear'of said rod and extended across and above the same and provided at its freeend with amarkingblock, having letters, figures, or other devices thereupon, and adapted to mark the same upon a cigar occupying said groove, by operating through said slot therein, said oscillating lever operated by the movements of said handle, together with means forwithdrawing said block from said slot, when'said. hanits free extremity rotatably' secured to said.

block, and means whereby said arm may be held in contact with said block during thereciprocation thereof, along said groove, and said block fixed at various positions along the said groove, as desired, substantially as described.

6. In a machine for cutting cigars to regulated lengths, a sliding gage-block, a groove adapted to receive said gage-block and permit its'controlled reciprocation therein, said block adapted to beset and securedat various distances along said groove, 2. cuttingblade adapted to be operated at the end of and transversely to said groove, an arm adapted to be rotatably operated from a pivot on said machine, and outside the line of said groove, and extended across thelinefof'said groove, and. rotatably connected with said gage-block, a slot in said arm at one'of the rotatable contacts thereof so as to compen sate for increased length of said arm'at different angular distances between said'block, and said pivot-support. outside the line of said groove, together with means whereby said arm'may be tightened up'so as to prevent longitudinal displacement along said groove, or loosened to permit said block to be set at different required distances from said outting-blade, substantially as described.

7. In combination with cigar-supporting cover or base, 3, cigar-groove, 4, adjustingblock, 52,- slotted arm, 55, pivotally secured to said block by pin, 57, and'at its opposite end to said base by clamping attachment, 54', extended through said slot,56, said slotted arm consisting of a strong spring-blade adapted by its tension to firmly hold down said block in said groove, when adjusted therein.

In testimony whereof'I'have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ISAAC W. HEY-SINGER.

Witnesses: V

ANDREW V. GEQUPE, M. B. FENNINGER. 

